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Episode 1469: The Cole-Powered Yankees
Date December 11, 2019 Summary Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller debate the merits of a possible Mike Trout fun fact, banter about Nomar Mazara and the evolving definition of “slugger,” discuss the record Gerrit Cole contract and its implications for the Yankees, the battle to be the best team in baseball, the Dodgers and Angels without Cole, baseball’s competitive balance, Scott Boras, the perplexing free-agent market, and more. Then they review the last 16 of Bill James’s 30 recent suggestions for counteracting baseball’s slowing pace of play and rising strikeout and home-run rates, and Ben talks to Rob Arthur of Baseball Prospectus (1:32:33) about the findings of MLB’s latest study on the baseball’s behavior, the causes of the record homer rate, and the future of offense. Topics * Gerrit Cole's record setting contract * Outlook for the New York Yankees * Who is the best team in baseball? * Increase in early offseason free-agent signings * Scott Boras's week at the winter meetings * Episode 1467 follow-up: Bill James's suggestions for improving baseball * Adjustments to batter box location * Protective gear allowances * Deliberate changes to the baseball * Adjusting fence locations and home run distances * Restrictions on bat size * Economic incentives for quicker games * Replay reviews on stolen base calls * Foul ball third strikes and check swings * Impact of lowering the mound * Interview with Rob Arthur * MLB report on baseball behavior * Confirmed changes to seam height and drag * Impact of swing changes on home run rate * Baseball productions process * Impact of ball changes to pitch spin and break Intro Jale, "Nine Years Now" Interstitial The Apples in Stereo, "Same Old Drag" Outro Nathaniel Rateliff & The Nigh Sweats, "Tearing at the Seams" Banter * Episode 1468 follow-up: Sam played along with the Scott Boras guessing game. Sam says he guessed the final quote as fake because apples and onions are the two main produce exports of Washington state. Meg says that Sam was overthinking it and she didn't consider that. * Sam offers up a possible Mike Trout fun fact. Mike Trout has earned 72.5 WAR; all Angels draftees from 2010-19 produced 40 WAR. Ben does not find this to be a great fun fact. The median WAR for a decade of players drafted is close to 70. * Ben and Sam debate whether Nomar Mazara be called a slugger, and what exactly defines a slugger. Sam thinks that any player with an ISO above .200 could qualify. Ben suggests players with a .500 or higher SLG. He recalls a quote from Episode 1432 where Rowdy Tellez mentioned hitting 20 home runs as a major milestone. Email Question * Ryan: "I get the White Sox official promotional emails as someone who selected them as his favorite team on MLB.com. This morning they proudly anounced their acquisition of Nomar Mazara. I pasted the full email below, but it’s really that last paragraph that prompted this question. They call him a slugger despite the fact that he hit 19 homers last year and has never hit more than 20 in a season. His .469 SLG in 2019 ranks 93rd among batters with at least 400 PA." Notes * Gerrit Cole signed a record contract with the Yankees for $324 million over nine years. Sam thinks that this pitcher contract record won't be broken for at least 5-10 years. Ben thinks that the Yankees signing Cole and being baseball's 'big bad' is good for the sport. * In Episode 1467 Ben and Sam discussed the first half of Bill James's list of suggestions for improving baseball. * The MLB study into the baseball revealed that there had been changes to the seam height. Changes were on the order of 1/1000th of an inch. While approximately the size of a human skin cell, these changes are reportedly perceptible to touch. * Rob thinks that MLB could very easily moderate any variation in the balls by testing them for seam height and drag right after production finished. * The changes in seam height were estimated to be responsible for only 35% of the change to drag on the ball. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 1469: The Cole-Powered Yankees * The Blue Jays dynasty that could have been by Kenny Kelly * The Winners and Losers of Gerrit Cole's Signing With the Yankees by Ben Lindbergh * From Catfish Hunter to Gerrit Cole: The history of MLB's highest-paid pitcher by David Schoenfield * Foul Balls Are The Pace-Of-Play Problem Nobody's Talking About by Travis Sawchik * Uptick in home runs attributed to seam heights and batting techniques, not juiced balls by Jeff Passan * MLB Admits Lower Seam Height Caused The Home Run Surge by Robert Arthur Category:Episodes Category:Guest Episodes